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Natural Disaster Recovery
Disaster strikes and your story begins…
When disaster strikes, hearts and pockets open to help people and communities recover. Making sure those funds are used well and wisely to aid rural and regional communities recover for the long term is a special service offered by the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR).
There are a large number of natural disaster declarations across rural and regional Australia each year. Rural communities accept that extreme weather conditions are a fact of life. However, occasionally, these events are of such significance that they warrant additional assistance outside of the traditional recovery packages funded by state and federal governments.
The Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR) has developed a National Disaster Response Framework that supports the medium to long term recovery of rural and regional communities. FRRR has responded to a range of disaster events across rural and regional communities over the last ten years, including Cylcone Larry, 2008 Emerald & Mackay Floods and the 2009 Victorian Bushfires.
FRRR has evolved and developed a multi-level collaborative philanthropic response designed to work in partnership with funding partners and the community through the medium to long term recovery process. The aim is to work under a single philanthropic banner. By working in this manner it attempts to avoid replication of philanthropic effort and resources and fill the gaps as only philanthropy can.
There are four main elements to FRRR’s Disaster Recovery Response:
1. RRR (Repair-Restore-Renew) Grants Program
RRR is a collaborative partnership based grants program. Donations to this program will be sought from within the philanthropic and corporate sectors. Where a specific interest or region is required FRRR has the capacity to tailor a specific element of the RRR Program to meet the needs of the donor.
A flexible, accessible and adaptable community grants program will be implemented once the community planning and engagement process has commenced as part of the medium to long term response.
Grants will be available to support a diverse range of projects including minor infrastructure, arts, mental health, volunteer fatigue, training, leadership, resilience, communication and mitigation.
2. Clearing house role
FRRR will attempt to act as a clearing house for projects on behalf of the philanthropic sector to encourage the continuation of a collaborative response.
3. Leverage programs
FRRR will work collaboratively with other funding bodies to jointly refer and exchange projects to ensure the most effective use of available funds.
4. FRRR Regional and Project Specific Donation Accounts
These accounts provides FRRR with the ability to assure philanthropic bodies, corporates, organisations or communities that wish to, or have, raised funds to give into a specific community or region or for a specific purpose.
How will it help devastated communities?
Long after the media has moved on and initial grants are dispensed in disaster-struck areas, gaps in community need emerge. Community recovery takes time to conduct planning and ensure that social and physical infrastructure is appropriate, sustainable and meets the future needs of the community. FRRR is an independent advocate, that recognises the need for support in the medium to long term recovery.
Insight is the social policy magazine published by the Victorian Council of Social Service (VCOSS). In the latest edition - Insight 5: Emergency Management – Trauma and Resilience - FRRR has authored an article on the role philanthropy can play in natural disaster recovery.
To read the article click here for the online version http://vcoss.org.au/pubs/insight_issues/issue_5.htm.
Who can donate and partner?
This program will take you and your company, fund, foundation, trust or organisation right to the heart of recovery, linking you with areas that are disaster declared that you would like to support.
Individuals, families, private and public ancillary funds, family trusts, corporate entities and foundations can support the natural disaster recovery program.
A special tax law means FRRR can deliver funds on behalf of provate ancillary funds and family trusts to not-for-profit organisations with and without deductible gift recipient (DGR) status, with resultant tax benefits for donors.
Getting started
Contact the FRRR CEO on 1800 170 020. FRRR is available to deliver presentations on this program to philanthropists and corporate fund managers.
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